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The CBOE volatility index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, is trading above 25 today. Is this volatility good for the market? James Hardesty, president, market strategist and chief economist at Hardesty Capital Management and David Hefty, CEO of Cornerstone Wealth Management shared their insights.

Ahead of next week's earnings reports, Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial, told CNBC which stocks "aggressive" investors should buy for their good valuation, strong charts—and their big beats last quarter.

Ray Elliott put in less than six months on the job last year at Boston Scientific as the medical device maker's new CEO. But, according to "The New York Times," in that short amount of time Elliott received enough total compensation to make him the second-highest paid head honcho behind only Oracle's Larry Ellison (albeit a distant #2.)

Stocks struggled on Friday after being higher this morning on a solid consumer-sentiment data and a deal on aid for Greece. How should investors prepare their portfolios for next week? David Stepherson, senior portfolio manager at Hardesty Capital Management and Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners shared their best plays.

Last Sunday, the House passed a historic $938 billion health care bill and on Tuesday, President Obama signed the bill into law. The Senate will try to pass a second measure passed by the House on Sunday amending portions of the bill through a process called reconciliation. This massive health care overhaul is expected to guarantee insurance coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans. The cost of covering these currently uninsured citizens is expected to be covered by a combination of taxes on wealthy individuals and companies and through Medicare cost cuts.

What is that one essential skill that would make or break your decision to promote someone to senior leadership? We all know the standard ones of communication, management, strategic planning experience, etc. But what is that one crucial qualification that would kill the decision for you?

For the past 7 years, Farr, Miller & Washington has published our Top Ten Stocks for the coming year. The results have been very strong, but we need to be mindful that concentrated positions also concentrate risk.